Cobalt Flames and Hearts of Iron
by chidoriprime
Summary: The IMC Annabelle and her Militia crew attempt to stop Audrey Gassenarl's forces from purging a Darcsen settlement during the Gallian Civil War. Ex-IMC Pilot ace Blake Shepherd engages the rebel forces in a vicious tank-vs.-Titan battle to save the refugees.


**Hello out there! This is Chidoriprime here, and I've got something I want to share with everyone who's been a long-time fan of Valkyria Chronicles. Given the release of the new PC port of the first game, I hope more people will start to notice this little gem of a series, and that with this recognition Sega may see the merit of releasing a North American version of VCIII sometime in the future. Here's hoping****!**

**While this isn't anything really concrete so far, this is a plot bunny that's been kicking around in my head on the days I have off. It's a crossover idea between the Valkyria Chronicles series and Respawn Entertainment's new Titanfall game. This is an idea that hit me in the head awhile back because it was a combination of two of my most favorite things in the world: giant military robots and hot girls with superpowers! What's to hate about that?**

**I'm putting this out on the web to see what kind of a response I'll get. I like writing, but…to be honest; I've always had a hard time giving myself enough credit for my writing. I have a really hard time with things like that. This is really the reason I haven't really put a lot of work out there in years. So if you could, take some time to look at this story. If you know someone who's a fan of both series, tell them about it and ask them to check it out too. I want to know that I'm doing alright with this.**

**ANYWAY, this take place around the time of the second VC game, during the Gallian Civil War. A town of Darcsens is being evacuated by the crew of the IMC carrier Annabelle, while the main lead engages the majority of the rebel forces in a Titan-vs-tanks slugfest. **

. . . .

"Damn it! What the hell is it with you people and blowing up everything that gets in your way?!" Blake's irritated voice bellowed from the mech's external loudspeakers as the Titan stumbled drunkenly out of the massive fireball that had engulfed it a moment before. Another tank round managed to strike the Atlas in the chest while he was distracted, knocking down his shields and making him stagger for a moment, even as Blake recovered and fired back at the offending tank with the cannon. 40 mm, high-explosive rounds meant to punch through tougher armor than the simple steel plating on most tanks on the Europan continent, ripped giant holes in the chassis and engines, killing the crew and rendering the machine completely inoperable.

"_Warning; you are outnumbered three to one."_

"Ah come on; just give me a goddamn break..." Blake groaned as he saw more enemy tanks come rolling up the street with mobs of infantry in tow. "At this rate the 40's going to be out of ammunition before the real fighting starts."

'_Well… you are the biggest threat in the city right now…literally." _He thought to himself even as he boosted right and took cover behind a housing complex that was big enough for him to hide behind. _"No surprise that the GRA would want to take you out first above everything else…" _Switching the grip so the nimble machine was holding the gun left-handed, Alex poked out of cover to pop off a few bursts at the rebels closing in on him. _"At least Kate's upgrades are holding up; if this had just been a standard-issue Atlas, I'd have been done for from the get-go." _Once he'd emptied the mag, the suit's auto-reload system kicked in as it grabbed another magazine from its belt and attached it to the cannon in one smooth motion.

'_So as long as this machine's holding up…'_

"COME ON!" he shouted as he broke cover and aimed at the advancing rebel column, "SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

. . . .

"H…holy cow, can you believe this?!" Reiner exclaimed in shock as he and the rest of an equally stunned Class G watched from afar at the carnage being wrought on the GRA's forces by the mysterious biped machine as it rampaged across the town. It was truly unlike anything that they'd seen in the civil war thus far. "Look at that! Just from this angle I'm counting at least 13 enemy tanks knocked out of commission!"

"And that is not counting the number of enemy dead too, of which there must be a substantial amount, given the state of destruction in front of us." Mischlitt noted in her usually calm manner. No one noticed the slight tremble in her hand as she adjusted her glasses.

"You said it. The rebels are getting their butt's handed to them right now by whatever that thing is!" Pete declared as he tried to shield his eyes from the sun to see the battle better.

"No kidding." Joachim moaned nervously as he kept scanning the scenery of cratered and cracked streets and burning tanks. "Aw man, this is not going to be my lucky day, I just know it!"

"Um, Avan, could this be what Professor Brixham meant when he told us to find out what's been happening to the rebels around here?" Cosette asked the red-head as she moved a bit closer to her class chair.

"I can't see any other reason why this wouldn't be it." Avan admitted. "Just look at that; one giant walking tank like Brixy said."

. . . .

"That's right you bastards, forcing on the giant killer robot kicking your asses!" Blake yelled as another burst of 40 mm explosives ripped apart another medium tank and a squad of lancers who'd almost gotten lucky and ambushed him from an alleyway if not for the suit's AI alerting him to their presence at the last minute.

"Come on you murdering psychopaths; focus your attention on me! All of your instincts must be screaming at you to take me out before I kill you all."

'_At the very least, just keep your attention on me and not on the refugees for a little while longer.' _He thought.

During a momentary lull in the fighting Blake had switched his comm. over to a private frequency he'd set up with his second-in-command so he could receive information from her and her alone during regular operations."Kate, talk to me!" Blake asked as he boosted the Atlas into more cover as a trio of enemy tanks tried to blast him into scrap metal. "How's the evacuation going?"

"Good so far," Kate replied as she put a three-round burst from her rifle into the chest of an shock trooper who'd tried to rush the barricade blocking King's Lane. Behind her were several of the _Annabelle_'s Crows landing and taking off from the ground, either disgorging more Militia troopers to fend off the rebel attacks on the LZ or taking on more of the Darcsen population and jumping back to the carrier. "Lots of folks freaking out about the drop ships and how they keep disappearing into thin air, but I think the town elders are keeping everyone calm for the most part. As long as they know that we're helping them out, I don't think any of the villagers are going to care just how they're being rescued."

"Good to know." Blake bit out painfully as another near miss rattled the cockpit. "Keep it up but watch your back. I don't think Audrey's shown us her full hand just yet; she's still holding back for some reason."

"Think she's trying to play nice because she happens to knows you?"

"Not a chance in hell. She's just waiting for the right moment to play her cards right. Trust me on that." Blake said tersely as he fired back at an offending lancer who'd taken a lucky potshot at him.

"You really sound sure of yourself." Kate said. "Is this Audrey girl really that good?"

"Yeah, better than her brother, I can tell you that."

"Why's that?"

"Put it this way" Blake explained, "When you compare the two of them, Audrey is by far the most level-headed. She's not going to try and rush things when the battle isn't going her way, she'll figure out how to turn things around. She uses every angle in a fight to give her the advantage to strike back."

"…you really do respect her, don't you?" Kate asked softly.

"…Yeah…I guess you could say that." The Atlas pilot admitted to her.

"Tell me something." Kate asked, "You got to know her a little when you were first stranded in Gallia three years ago. Even when you knew how badly she thought about the Darcsens in general, you still tried to reach out to her. Does it bother you…having to fight someone you could have considered a close friend if circumstances had been different?"

Blake didn't respond at first, as he tried to sort through his feelings on the subject. "…she made her choice when she sided with the rebels and tried to kidnap both my wife and our little girl. Audrey can't look past people to see them for themselves, just like her brother. Whatever respect I have for her abilities as a commander doesn't factor into this. She's determined to wipe out a group of people who she thinks stains Gallia's 'purity' as a nation. And that kind of world view is something I hate more than anything else."

Blake grit his teeth as he accelerated forward again, crushing a few jeeps under the Titan's armored feet before he rammed an APC and flipped it violently into the air. It hadn't even finished rolling across the ground before he finished it off with a three-round burst from the 40 mm.

"She's an enemy to every innocent person in Gallia now, Darcsen and otherwise. She won't stop unless we take her down for good." The ex-IMC pilot declared coldly.

**. . . .**

**And that's it...for now! Seriously, I do plan on making this little sampler a full series, though whether I should keep calling it call it Cobalt Flames and Hearts of Iron is up for debate. I just want some feedback from you viewers about this little ole plot of mine. Rest assured that this will not be the last time you will see Blake Shepherd in action...he will be the main character in this new series!**

**But seriously, reviews and comments are needed guys! Can't tell what you're all thinking unless you tell me first! And please don't put swear words in reviews. The profanity blocker is on and I think it doesn't show any reviews with that kind of stuff in it.**

**Until next time guys! **

**Chidoriprime, signing off!**


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